This easy almond custard recipe is light and soft, made with a milk base instead of heavy cream. It has a silky mouthfeel with just a brush of sugar and fragrant almond extract.I have a sweet tooth, and it's particularly partial to custards.You really can't go wrong if you serve me custard for dessert, and it's with great restraint that I'll keep myself from licking the dish--I'll certainly scrape the sides with my spoon and lick that clean!I adore custards because they're so simple yet refined at the same time. It's also easy to customize them with any extract or seasonal fruit you have on hand.Recently I made custard off ... Continue Reading
15 Ways to Simplify Your Life and Home
The sound of your life should be a hum of vibrant activity, not the jarring frenzy of a jackhammer. Here are 15 ways to simplify + streamline life and home.Here's where I stand on busyness: I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, and it certainly isn't a sin. We'll probably always be busy, because our lives are full.The key is to be busy and full with the right things, to take life in stride instead of racing through it frantically.You want the sound of your life to be a hum of vibrant activity, not the erratic and jarring frenzy of a jackhammer.So how do you take the hectic out of the busy? Here are 15 ways to ... Continue Reading
I’m Not Jo March (And other shocking things I learned before my 28th birthday)
I'm 28 as of Thursday.Twenty-eight, not thirty, and not as momentous.But still, I try to enjoy every birthday even if it's not an epoch. I use birthdays for self reflection, and as an excuse to have some extra fun on the blog and let my readers get to know me a little better, if you will. On birthdays past I've shared 25 random things about me, 26 things I need to nail down before I get any older, and my 27 favourite heroes, heroines, and villains from classic lit.You might be expecting another numbers list this year.Well, you're not going to get it!Not a 28-things-long numbers list, at any rate. I'm getting too old for ... Continue Reading
Don’t Wait to Be Debt Free to Enjoy Your Life
Do you ever feel discouraged by your debt?Whether you're paying down student loans, a mortgage, or trying to get on top of consumer debt, a lot of us owe money to someone, and we feel the weight of that burden. To add guilt to burden, we've been gradually conditioned to put debt-free living on a level with godly living. In fact, I think many of us have turned this debt-free ideal into an idol.I recently wrote an article over at The Humbled Homemaker that I hope will be a wake-up call for those struggling with the weight of debt and the deep desire to be debt free.My husband and I have been valiantly trying to pay off our debts for ... Continue Reading
20 Good Period Films for Your Next Girls’ Movie Night
Need a good period film to watch? Here are 20 romantic period pieces to choose from for your next girls' movie night!I'm pretty bookish and I certainly don't advocate spending most of your evenings in front of a TV, but I adore the occasional girls' movie night! I want--and I'd even say I need--these times to connect with kindred spirits and enjoy good stories (and tea) together.And by the way, I really do think it has to be tea for girls' night, if you're watching a period film. You can have margaritas when you watch the latest chick flick romantic comedy, but for the period films, please do sip tea.For the next time you plan ... Continue Reading
10 Truths Every Homemaker Should Embrace
We might follow drastically different cleaning routines and meal plans, but I think there are a few widely applicable homemaking truths we can all rally around.These are truths that are relevant for homemakers in any season of life, whether you’re just starting out with a place of your own or you’re an empty nester after raising half a dozen kids. Hold on to them and apply them in your daily life. That’s what I’m doing, by God’s grace! They’ll give you focus and purpose and direction–which is something I think we need when we’re caught up in the flurry of everyday life.Read the rest of my post over at Keeper of the Home! ... Continue Reading
How to Simplify the Switch to Natural Living
Do you want to adopt a more natural lifestyle, but feel it's too expensive + overwhelming to get started? I have a solution for you today that will address both problems!Five years ago, when Eric and I became more interested in reusable, natural alternatives for our home, we didn't have much extra money to invest in buying new products. So we made the switches gradually, over the course of a few years. We spent a little money here and there on reusable snack bags, non-plastic water bottles, glass storage containers, and the like. This slow and steady approach ending up being a perfect fit, because we were able to fully assimilate each ... Continue Reading
I Choose Less (The Day I Realised All I Wanted Was Green Gables)
Should I dream big, or settle for less?I turned the question around in my mind, over and over again. The answer seems painfully obvious in our 21st-century, you-can-do-anything society.Dream big, dummy!Or...err...dream big, you special snowflake, you!We've been told from childhood that we can do and be anything and everything we want. We're encouraged this way because the world really does need innovators and inventors.And hundreds of people have shown me that it's possible to make big dreams, to achieve them, and to look awesome while doing it.So I got a little dazzled.I got swept up in the possibility of being ... Continue Reading
How to Get Motivated When You Don’t Feel Like Cleaning
I don't loathe cleaning, but sometimes I just don't feel like doing it. Actually, a lot of times.I'd much prefer to bake something or declutter anything.On the other hand, I really love a clean home. While for some people messy means comfortable, for me clean is cozy. Over the last 5+ years of keeping my own home, I've found four things that are particularly effective for motivating me to clean. There's a chance these won't work for your personality type, and at the end of the day you'll be just as unmotivated to scrub your tub. The risk is pretty small, though, and the potential payoff is tidy home you actually enjoyed ... Continue Reading
40 Things You Should Experience Every Summer
Of all the ways the world tilts, I like it best when it's pointed toward the sun.Summer has always been my season. It stands for freedom--freedom from school, from clothes, from schedules, from normal. When autumn arrives I'm ready to return to the arms of my cozy sweaters and comfortable schedules, but while summer lasts we play hard and try to soak up every day.I love that summer can be equally glorious whether you spend it mostly at home or travel far and wide. Usually it's a collection of simple little pleasures that make the season feel so abundant.Beautiful things like summertime deserve poetry, but I lose my train of ... Continue Reading
